Occasionally Forgive Yet Never Forget
by icedragongurl
Summary: As they are headed towards the battle of a lifetime, two old enemies share some tense words. Differences are established and a hostile friendship is forged. Two unlikely individuals end up seeing eye to eye. NOT A YAOI!


**Occasionally Forgive Yet Never Forget**

**Icedragongurl**

**I so don't own One Piece… If I did then you can beat that Ace…*cries***

**Crocodile + Luffy Friendship Fic**

**There is no yaoi in this ACCEPT THAT! I like the idea of them becoming reluctant comrades in a weird way. I think it would be funny. I've seen a few cute fanart that inspired this fic. **

**Oneshot**

**Alright as a heads up, there is a suggestion of Croc/Robin. Though I prefer them together post Impel Down. I'm weird. Leave me be! _ Enjoy!**

As the stolen government ship headed straight for the center of the war zone there was chaos on the majority of the deck. The escaped inmates were franticly trying to figure out just what the hell they were going to do once they reached their inevitable destination. The straw hat captain had gotten bored of the chaos, and had found himself content with sitting and watching the distance shrink. Soon he'd be able to rescue Ace and then find his crewmates. His focus was broken by movement in his peripheral, the lovable idiot glanced over at the individual that had joined him.

Luffy frowned, as Crocodile stood there with his arms crossed, his body was rigid with an underlying irritation. Which only made sense, after all, who would want to be saved by the person who destroyed your high position that you'd fought to obtain? Gold eyes narrowed severely as the younger male stared at him. Talk about one hell of an uncomfortable position to be put in, last time they'd been in the same vicinity it'd been a fight to the death. Of course the runt had left him alive, because the straw hat was a 'good' pirate.

The very concept nauseated him, helping others with only good intentions, having a childish notion of the world being gray as opposed to black and white. Whoever had raised the teenage captain had clearly failed in teaching any common sense. Which was probably the only reason Monkey D. Luffy had successfully defeated him and his group. Crocodile was just about to snap at the boy to stop gawking at him like he was some sort of free source of entertainment, before he could the kid spoke.

"I haven't forgiven you for what you did to Vivi and Albasta. You're still a really bad guy to me." Luffy was curt, his words surprisingly sharp and to the point. The response was a look of 'No shit Sherlock', he'd have been more surprised if the runt didn't hold it against him. Crocodile lit one of the cheap cigars he'd stolen from an unconscious guard at the prison. It'd been awhile since he'd last been able to fulfill his nicotine habit. Going through the withdrawal in Impel Down, had been even worse then the jail itself.

The taste of cheap tobacco made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. His first stop after the battle, was a decent smoke shop. After exhaling his first intake of nicotine, the former shichibukai responded in an utterly uninterested tone of voice,

"I would've been insulted if you had. A lot of hard work was put into that plan of mine. Then you came along and ruined it all." There was a long silence between the two pirates, Luffy was frowning at him with blatantly dislike in those childish black eyes. Crocodile glowered back, an equal amount of general loathing for the straw hat. The boy captain adjusted his 'precious treasure'. As much as he hated to admit it, Crocodile had noticed that the brat had gotten a whole lot stronger since they'd last battled.

"Your 'plan' hurt a lot of nice people." The older pirate scoffed at that childish statement. As he exhaled another cloud of smoke, Crocodile's lips twisted into a cynical smile,

"A hazard of the job. Being a pirate isn't all gumdrops and rainbows, kid." The runt's mouth dipped into an even deeper frown, irritated Luffy answered

"I already know that! If you go around being mean to everyone, then you won't end up with a whole lot of nakama. Isn't that the point of being what we are? New adventures with important friends?" Crocodile stared, complete surprise on his face. Was he being serious? His shock was instantly replaced with contempt. Having a massive crew was greatly overrated, minions that were reliable had always been his thing. If they were a disappointment at any time, you could be rid of them. Spiteful words danced threateningly at the tip of his tongue but before they were able to escape, he recalled a whisper he'd overheard in the prison.

The guards had a bad habit of gossiping amongst one another, he'd typically ignored their drivel. Waiting out for an impossible opportunity, trying to figure out some way to escape. Only once had he been intrigued by the rumor being discussed.

"_Did you hear? Apparently, Nico Robin had joined the Straw Hats."_

"_Yeah, I know. The higher ups aren't all that pleased. I heard Lucci was sent to take care of her."_

"_Those straw hats are doomed."_

"_No pirate crew survives when she's in tow."_

He'd been curious as to what had become of his former assistant and companion of sorts. Last he'd checked, the woman had been lying at the his feet in a small puddle of her own blood. After he'd shish-kabobed her on his hook. During his long excruciatingly boring stint of time in Impel Down, he'd started to, ironically enough, feel just the slightest bit of regret for back-stabbing his partner. Nico Robin had been the only female he'd been able to have intelligent conversation with. She had been understanding of his goals and aspirations while others had been condescending.

She'd been smart enough to know not to trust him completely. How right Robin had been, even so, she had survived his betrayal and even joined sides with his enemy. Not like he could have expected any less. He hated himself for feeling a bit of curiosity at his former comrades wellbeing. Against his better judgment, Crocodile gave into the overwhelming temptation,

"How has that woman Robin been?" His voice was almost hesitant, and it pissed the older man off to no end, how Luffy stared with wide puzzled eyes. Crocodile viciously put out the used cigar under his foot, before taking out another one of the horrid excuses for tobacco. The straw hat watched him with a curious sort of fascination, and if he'd been a weaker man the former Shichibukai would have blushed in embarrassment. It was an easy enough question to answer, why was the brat taking so long to answer?

Just as his patience was about to finally snap, the twerp muttered with uncertainty lacing his words.

"I don't know. Fine, I hope. We were attacked, and got sent far away from each other. So I haven't gotta clue." As much as he hated Luffy, Crocodile couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of pity for the brat… or perhaps that was just the after effect of the bad tobacco… he couldn't tell the difference. They remained there, silent, staring out at the impending violence awaiting them. Escape from hell just to enter an entirely different one, the only reason he was doing this was to get the chance to kill Whitebeard. Or so he kept telling himself.

"As much as I can't stand you…thanks." Golden eyes widened in utter shock, what the hell did the twerp just say? Crocodile stared with a new cigar dangling dangerously from his mouth. Was this some sort of screwed up joke? What in gods name did he have to be thanked for? Last time the older pirate had checked…. You don't say thanks to the person that tried to kill you, multiple times, both directly and indirectly. The brat was obviously still as stupid as he'd always been, Crocodile sneered at the boy but before he could speak, Luffy continued.

"For helping me get outta there. You could've attacked me and escape on your own, but you didn't. So…thanks." Crocodile was silent yet again, and it was beginning to get on his nerves. When the hell did the idiot monkey grow a brain? He quickly covered up his shock with irritation,

"Let's get one thing straight here, straw hat. I wasn't helping you escape. If I'd killed you back there…then the chances of getting out myself was impossible. It's as simple as that. Don't go looking too far into things, idiot." He scoffed, Luffy watched him quietly. Every last cell in Crocodile's body wanted to crush the bastard that had destroyed all that he had worked for. It was the semi-rational part that kept him from actually following through with that desire.

Again the silence was broken by that grating childish voice. No one should sound so damned naïve and energetic!

"Even so…If you help me save Ace, that's all that matters." Yellow orbs watched the boy stare out at the ocean intently, and after a second he put out the dying cigar under his foot. Crossing his arms in a tense fashion, Crocodile looked at the youthful boy.

"You should already know by now, trusting me is not the smartest move to make, straw hat. I'm not like those other idiots. I'm out for whitebeard. That's all. Get that through your cotton candy brain" The boy stuck his tongue out at him, and he'd been sorely tempted to turn into a piece of dried up leather. Just for the hell of it. As if he'd seen that dangerous spark in the golden eyes, Luffy closed his mouth swiftly.

So even morons with a single brain cell can learn from experience. Crocodile sneered at that, he had many other tricks up his sleeve. Though… it had just occurred to him, that where the boy sitting, it would've been easy to topple right off and plummet into the water. Apparently self preservation instincts were running extremely low on the black haired boy. Aggravation was making Crocodile's brow twitch, and he was beginning to get a tiny migraine from the sheer stupidity of the boy.

"Get the hell off of there before you end up drowning! This whole damned mission is because of you, so the least you could do is try not to kill yourself off before we even get to the battle!" He snarled low and dangerously, each word was sharp and any other person would have done what he'd said instantly. Luffy, he only looked at the pissed off older man… and laughed!

Just as the former shichibukai was about to give into temptation and just kill the bastard… rational logic be DAMNED…that brat said something that made Crocodile's brain hurt.

"You won't let me die. You said so yourself. Not until the battle is over! Shishishi!" The cigar was hanging dangerously on the verge of toppling free, and seeing as he only three more left… once his brain, metaphorically, rebooted his jaw tensed and his teeth gritted against the insult-to-all-tobacco. Maybe he was too judgmental, the kid wasn't so stupid after all. He'd caught on to that little detail fairly quickly.

It was true though, Crocodile knew that he had to let the pain in the ass live until the very end of the battle, at the very least. Only then could be turn the bastard into a piece of monkey jerky. He glanced over at the brat again, and was surprised by the darkness that lingered on the youthful face. He'd seen glimpses of it during their last encounter, but outside of battle…it was different entirely.

"If I manage to save Ace, then you're fine in my book…now. I won't forgive what you did in the past. Help me save my big brother, and I don't care what happens after." There was such a serious tone to Luffy's voice, and so many different emotions swarmed within each word. It was impossible to say anything snide or cynical in response. Instead, Crocodile just watched the boy for a long silent moment, before closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh of exasperation.

"You're one hell of a fool Monkey D. Luffy…Fine… But don't be surprised if I try to kill you afterwards." His threat was only half hollow, and the boy noticed that. As the two arch-enemies stood side by side, there was a brief moment of understanding. They might not have gotten along. Both having immensely different definitions of what it meant to be a pirate, even so… there was an acceptance.

Ace could not die. It was as simple as that, even those that did not know him, understood that much. Why this one life was so important? Crocodile didn't know or even give a general flying shit about. All he knew, was that they were headed for hell itself, and for once it would be better to have allies than foes. Straw hat would be one amazing ally, no matter how frustrating the boys take on the world was.

If the straw hat did survive this battle, then perhaps Crocodile would get the opportunity to discover, just how in gods name that woman survived. He would enjoy seeing the look of shock on his former partners face. He couldn't help but wonder if she had a scar, left behind from his betrayal. Those were things for a different time and day. Right now all that mattered was dealing with Whitebeard, letting the idiot save Ace, and getting the hell out before the marines captured them all and tried to pack them all back to Impel Down.

There was no way in all the different level of hell that he was going back there. If it came to that, then it would be all pirates for themselves. After all, how was a determined individual such as himself suppose to succeed in all of his goals? Such as eventual global dominance? In the end it all came down to one thing… That idiot sitting at the front of the ship. Even after having all the time in the world in Impel Down, he still couldn't understand why Luffy ticked the way he did.

They hit a rough wave and the boy almost toppled off, there had been resounding gasp from those who'd noticed. Crocodile had actually lurched forward just a bit in reflex to grab the fool. Thankfully Luffy had caught his balance, and merely laughed at the slip up. The older man's hand clenched with the desire to pummel the moron! He had no idea how the straw hat crew was able to put up with such an idiot of a captain. Instead of trying to figure out, he settled for snapping rather loudly,

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU TO GET THE HELL OFF OF THERE!" Luffy grinned childishly in return. Shockingly the boy did as told, and there was a collective sigh of relief. Apparently Crocodile hadn't been the only one to notice the danger of a 'hammer' sitting at such a spot. He'd simply been the only one willing to chastise the boy for actually doing such a thing.

There was a shout that the gates were visible in the distance. Suddenly any humor had vanished, everyone on that stole ship felt the tension take a firm hold. And as they got closer, Crocodile smirked evilly at the anticipation of the battle ahead. With smugness in his voice he spoke to the boy that stood beside him.

"Don't die here straw hat. Not before I get the chance to kill you myself." Luffy gave him a small grin, before it vanished into the darkness once more.

"Don't go dying either. It won't be much of a rematch if you're not around." Crocodile sneered at that. He wasn't one to go down so easily. Still it was the sentiment that counted, he supposed. Not that it really mattered much to the older man.

Still… it was the thought that counted. Even if it was a screwed up way of thinking.

END! 

I hope you all enjoy! I hated trying to find CrocLuffy friendship fics as opposed to just flat out YAOI fics. Not my thing, I prefer NamiLuffy any and every day! So I decided to write this! I hope all of you enjoy. And this is only my second fic so please forgive me if they got ooc at any point! It was most certainly not deliberate! I personal hate when it happens. Please review and let me know what you think! 3 Thanks!


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